College+Essay

I am only seventeen, but I have had fifty kids. Yes, fifty kids, fifty name, and fifty personalities, and one room. At first I struggled with the concept of being a provider of education and knowledge to fifty developing minds, but it was the best decision I’ve made. I became involved in a class that allowed students to explore the teaching profession, and at the last few months of the class I was able have an internship at a local school. So I became a student teacher at a middle school, and had to classes to teach. One had eighteen students, and the other had thirty-two. Not knowing that I was going to have such a multitude of students, I came and meet the challenge. Having to learn and remember each and every student’s name was something that I had believed to be easy. But standing in front of a classroom with a hundred eyes piecing into your soul, makes in a little harder to remember names. Forgetting half the names in the class and getting laughed at for miss pronunciations was embarrassing, but it did not tear me away from wanting to be a teacher.

Since I was a young girl I have always wanted to be a teacher. I did not know all the responsibility and hard work it takes to become a teacher. All I knew that it was the right profession for me. Every time when I played school with my brothers, sister, and friends, I would always want to be the teacher. My mother even brought me a dress and a pair of fake glasses that I would wear when we played. Every year in elementary school there would be a career day. So every year I would walk out of the house wearing my teaching dress and glasses. Being dressed as a teacher just felt right.

During my internship I was more than just teaching lessons; but I was being taught lessons of my own. I learned that a personal relationship needs to be established between the students and a teacher, but it should not go too far. Students need to know enough to feel safe around a teacher, but they don’t need to know a whole life story. I also learned that respect is a two-way street; it must be given in order to receive it. But students respect a teacher more when they can relate to a teacher. My students were better able to relate to me more than their real teacher, because I was only five years older than they were. I was better able to understand how they learned and what methods worked the best. Being only five years apart I had many things in common with them, so I could establish a more personal relationship with my students.

Teaching has also taught me how to think on my feet on my feet. When finishing a lesson early it is always important to have a plan B. It can be going over the material, or starting a new lesson, just as long as the students are not having a lot of free time during instructional time. Making a lesson work is what all teachers have to do in order to have the best result possible.

Being in a school has always made me feel comfortable and relaxed. Like many people I have had my share of family problems and issues, but unlike some once I got in school all of my problems seemed to melt away. School always gave me something to look forward to. No matter what happened the night before, I always knew I could go to school in the morning and forget everything. My mind would become occupied, being able to think about more than my problems, has got me through my problems.

Education has always played an important part in my life. I believe that this school will provide me with a safe place to learn, so I can better understand what it truly means to be a teacher.